Planning Permission has been granted to Dunoon Baptist Church for the erection of a 3 storey building adjacent to the existing church premises on Alexandra Parade. The building will encapsulate a youth cafe/bar for teenagers, conference auditorium, coffee house and student accommodation.

The planning and discussions have taken nearly 10 years to reach this point and the church members are delighted that permission has been granted. The new glass fronted structure will fill the gap between the church and the Riverside Swim and Health Centre.

The vision for the development lay in a desire to create a safe meeting place for the teenagers in the town in addition to other existing facilities. The rest of the project has grown up around that central aim.

The church, as a registered charity, will now be able to seek funding to complete the work as soon as possible. Funds will be required for the building itself and also for the fitting out. Tender documents will be a going out as soon as possible and already enquiries are being received from contractors for the work involved.

The existing Seasons Coffee House will be relocated to the new building and discussions are underway concerning the future use of the existing coffee house premises. Permission has been granted for this to be used as retail premises but the church has yet to decide the most appropriate way forward.

The conference area on the first floor will accommodate around 150 delegates and is capable of being divided into two smaller areas. First floor catering facilities will ensure a complete conference service will be on offer.

The youth cafe/bar will have its own entrance and an exterior courtyard to the rear. Although having a fixed area to work within, planning ahead ensures additional space is available when required. The development of this facility will depend much on the young people themselves, their needs and wishes.

It is believed that the facilities to be offered within this new development will benefit the whole community and complement the other works in the pipeline through Chord and other groups.